Run With It
by natashasbanner
Summary: When the Black Widow got ahold of a story she saw it through to the end. When the pursuit of the scoop of the year starts getting personal she has to choose between the internship she been working toward and the one thing she doubted she'd find, love. Bruce/Nat. College AU. Student/Teacher.
1. Chapter 1

Hello :) This is my first attempt at a longer piece for Bruce/Natasha. It's based off of an AU I found on Tumblr and I really hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Enjoy :)

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Chapter 1

"What brings you here, Nick?" Natasha questioned as the footsteps she'd heard on the hallway floor came to a stop. Her tone was almost bored, and her eyes never left the computer screen in front of her.

Nick Fury, Dean of the School of Journalism, raised his eyebrows as he leaned on the doorframe. She was good.

"That's Dean Fury to you, Romanoff," he said gruffly, staring down the back of her head until she turned around to meet his gaze.

"What do you need, _Dean?"_ Natasha emphasized the title sarcastically with a smirk.

"This is for you," he said and pulled a blank envelope out of his jacket, holding it out for the student.

"What is it?" Natasha asked, her interest piqued, as she stood from the chair and approached the dean.

"Something I thought you'd like to see," he told her, handing over the envelope.

"You opened it?" Natasha glared accusingly.

Fury held his hands up in his defense. "It was in with my mail, and it didn't have a name on it."

Natasha rolled her eyes and, without any further hesitation, reopened the envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper with a short note scrawled in the center.

 _Dr. Banner. Biochem. Slept with student. Angry. -Anonymous_

"That's it?"

Fury only shrugged and stepped further into the small space where the students who ran the paper worked. He sat at the table in the middle of the room while Natasha returned to her seat at one of the four computers along the far wall. She had the paper still clutched in her hands, rereading the short note.

"What exactly do you want me to do with this information?" She asked, setting the paper and the envelope beside the keyboard.

"Work your magic, dig up a little dirt, expose the scandal. Isn't that what you do best?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Natasha only stared at the man across from her. It was true; she couldn't deny that she had a knack for bringing the ugliest truths to light. She'd been doing it ever since she set foot on campus and discovered a passion for investigative journalism. Natasha had quickly made a name for for herself as the most ruthless and dedicated writer for the school paper. Some had even started calling her the Black Widow.

"Why are you so invested, Nick? You really want me to go after a professor, of all people?"

Fury ignored the use of his first name and clasped his hands together on top of the table. "I don't know the guy, and I'm invested because I want you to succeed. Isn't the deadline for that New York Times internship coming up soon?"

"It's not until the end of the semester," Natasha corrected, knowing full well Fury knew this, as well. "Besides, how do you even know this is true?"

"I don't," he answered honestly. "But it's not every day people send anonymous tips to the Dean of Journalism. I was hoping you'd get to the bottom of it and come up with a killer story to set you apart from those other internship applicants."

"I already had an article," Natasha told him defensively.

"I've read your work, Romanoff. And as amazing as it is, everyone else applying is going to be, as well."

"So you want me to chase down a tip about a faculty member that could very well be false, publish the story, and send it in with my application?"

"Exactly. It shows you have the drive to investigate anything, even when the consequences could be severe. I can almost guarantee everyone else played it safe, and if you want this as much as I know you do, you'll take that risk," Fury said as he stood from his chair and headed for the door.

"And what are the consequences?" Natasha asked, not entirely concerned about them but wanting to prepare herself for when she inevitably had to face them.

"Let's just cross that bridge when we get to it," Fury muttered vaguely as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Natasha stared at the closed door for several moments before she turned back to the article she'd been finishing before Fury showed up. She tried to let herself get reabsorbed in coming up with a closing, but it was a losing battle. The note lightly brushing her right hand was taunting her with the potential to be the greatest thing she'd ever written, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized Fury was right. She needed to take the risk. That internship would change her life, and she wasn't about to lose her chance because her article got lost among all the other entries.

No one in their right mind would willingly put their neck on the line to prove a rumor about one of their school's professors. It was a suicide mission at best, but the payoff would be more than worth it in her eyes. With a determined sigh, she clicked out of her unfinished article and pulled up the school's directory to find this Dr. Banner.

Her investigation had officially begun, she was ready to run with it.

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Please let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you all :)


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again :) Here is the next installment of this little fic.

Dsiclaimer: I own nothing

Enjoy :)

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The next morning, Natasha ran out of her apartment before her roommate was even awake. She'd registered for Dr. Banner's eight a.m. Biochem class late the night before. It was the last one with any seats left and even then, there had only been two. The early start didn't bother her much, but she wasn't used to it anymore and greedily drank from her coffee mug.

After a quick stop at the bookstore on her way to the science building, Natasha filed into the lecture hall with the rest of the class. Dr. Banner was already at the bottom of the hall with his back to the students as he set up his computer and flipped through his notes. Natasha quickly slid to the back of the hall and opened her laptop in the corner. In an attempt to make herself as unnoticeable as she could, Natasha slouched down in her chair to be partially hidden behind her laptop with her hood up.

The professor took another moment to gather himself before finally facing his students and beginning his lecture. Natasha missed the first week, but she was able to follow what he was teaching for the most part. About halfway through the lecture, a few students started asking questions on something Natasha understood, and she took the opportunity to sit up a little in her seat to get her first good look at Dr. Banner.

He was a short man with an average build and looked to be in his early forties. He had thick, curly brown hair with strands of grey here and there and at his temples. He spoke with confidence and had a clear interest in the subject, but there was a timidness in his stance. He didn't stray far from the podium. Every now and then he would push his glasses up the bridge of his nose or wring his hands together like he was nervous. All in all, Natasha found herself intrigued by the professor and couldn't help but stare for a while, taking in his rumpled grey suit and purple button up.

It took a moment for her to realize he'd answered all the questions and gone back to lecturing, she was so distracted. Embarrassed by her slip up, even though no one even spared her a second glance, Natasha's face reddened, and she slouched back down in her seat to continue taking notes.

The class lasted for another forty-five minutes before Dr. Banner dismissed them with a reading assignment and a short nod. As soon as the class started filing out of the hall, Dr. Banner turned his back on them. Natasha stayed in her seat for only a moment to watch him begin to pack up his own things with practiced speed. She looked away quickly and gathered her own bag and laptop before slipping out the door behind her, unseen.

Her goal was to remain a fly on the wall and observe until the opportunity arose for her to finally engage. And when she did, her real work would begin. For now, she was in stealth mode.

The drive back to her apartment was a short one. When she opened the door she found her roommate standing at the counter, nursing a large mug of coffee in her hands.

At the sound of the door opening, Laura turned her bleary eyes to her roommate.

"Where'd you go?"

"I had a class," Natasha told her, shrugging her bag off of her shoulder and joining Laura in the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee while Laura stared at her confused.

"At eight in the morning?" Laura scoffed.

"Yes, at eight in the morning."

"Why? You didn't have an eight a.m. last week," Laura asked, setting her cup aside, crossing her arms, and staring down her best friend.

Natasha looked down into her mug to avoid meeting Laura's gaze, but not answering seemed to give her up a lot faster than if she would have just answered outright.

"What story are you chasing down now?" Laura asked, not even surprised that her friend had gone as far as taking a class she probably didn't need all for the sake of getting the best story she could.

"Fury brought this to me yesterday," Natasha explained, pulling the note out of her pocket and handing it over to Laura.

Laura took a second to read over the short message before handing the paper back. "Do you think there's any merit to this?"

Natasha shrugged and shoved the note back into her pocket. "I don't know, but it's the best tip I've gotten in four years, so I'll take my chances."

"He's a professor," the brunette tried to reason with her.

"I am aware."

"And you're still going through with it?"

"I don't really have a choice," Natasha said and took another sip of coffee.

"There's always a choice, Nat," Laura tried, but Natasha shook her head.

"I need a good story for my New York Times application. This will be a great story."

"If it's true," the brunette pointed out.

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully at her friend. "You always have to be the voice of reason, don't you?"

"Well, someone has to," she answered with a light chuckle.

The redhead couldn't help but laugh at that. "You know how much I need that internship, I just want the best chance I can get."

"I know you do," Laura admits before continuing, "But I want you to be careful. I know I say that a lot, but I'm serious. You've never done anything like this before and I don't want you to get hurt."

"What could happen?" Natasha asked, putting her empty mug in the sink. "I just have to get close enough for him to tell me if it's true or not, and whatever he wants to tell me along the way is just a bonus. Piece of cake," she said with a shrug.

"I'm being serious, Natasha." Her tone left no room for misunderstanding.

"I know," Natasha replied, meeting her friend's gaze to show her that she meant what she said, as well. "I'll be careful."

"That's all I ask." Laura stepped next to Natasha and put her mug in the sink before starting for the door. "On that note, I'm going to shower."

"Have fun," Natasha called after her, laughing to herself even when Laura was no longer in sight. She quickly washed their two mugs and the the plates that were in the sink from the night before and went back to the living room to retrieve her bag.

She pulled out a small notepad and jotted down a few of her observations from Dr. Banner's lecture. Other than his shy body language, she really didn't have much to work with or an angle she could work.

Natasha hoped she'd have more to go on within the week, but until then stealth mode it was.

X

Stealth mode didn't work out so well the next class. Natasha's alarm didn't go off, and by the time she made it to the lecture hall, she was ten minutes late. She debated whether or not to go in or just wait until the next class, but the student inside her couldn't miss a day of notes.

She took a deep breath and pulled her hood into place before pushing one of the doors open enough for her to slip inside and walked at a normal pace to her seat a few feet away. Rushing would draw attention to her, and that's the last thing she wanted. She kept her head down until she had her laptop set up. To anyone who still had their eyes on her after her late entrance, it would seem like she was embarrassed, but she just didn't want the professor to see her face. And it worked.

Or so she thought.

X

At the sound of the door opening, Bruce paused for the briefest second to look up and see who had interrupted his class. He couldn't see her face in the dim lights, but he could see the ends of bright red hair sticking out of her hood. He wasn't distracted for long and easily picked up where he momentarily stuttered.

Bruce went back to lecturing, the lesson being one he'd taught more times than he could remember, and every few minutes his gaze would stray to the corner where the student had taken her seat. She was hidden behind her laptop, but he could see that she still had her hood up. He thought that was a little odd, but not entirely noteworthy. Bruce had long since stopped trying to understand his students' quirks.

He tried not to let his eyes linger on the corner for too long, but every time he looked away he always found himself looking up at the corner once again. Not once during the entire ninety minutes did he see her face. Bruce didn't know why, but by the time he dismissed the class it really bothered him. Just as he turned to begin packing up his belongings, out of the corner of his eye he saw her stand and caught a short glimpse of a thin pale face with green eyes that shone in the minimal lighting in the room.

They locked eyes for a moment and Bruce froze where he stood. He was mesmerized, and a second later she was gone.


End file.
